BYD Dolphin launches in SG, first hatchback from BYD here

As BYD continues to make waves in Singapore - and not just with its electric cars too - it has welcomed a new and unprecedentedly tiny member to its team. 

On 3 July 2023, a splashy and locationally-apt launch event at Waterway Point commemorated the local debut of the BYD Dolphin in Singapore - the Chinese firm's first compact hatchback offering in Singapore. 

Despite its compact proportions overall, the Dolphin has an impressive wheelbase of 2,700mm - just 20mm shy of that on the Atto 3

Standing at just 4,290mm long, 1,570mm tall, and 1,770mm wide, the Dolphin is larger than longtime hatchback favourites including the Volkswagen Polo, Honda Jazz and Nissan Note e-Power, but still outsized by the likes of the Volkswagen Golf and Mazda 3 Hatchback.

Where it could take the fight to those cars, however, is with interior space, since it boasts a 2,700mm-long wheelbase. (For context, that's just 20mm shorter than the larger Atto 3's!) Like its SUV sibling, the Dolphin was built from the ground up to be an electric car, and thus also rides on BYD's bespoke 'e-Platform 3.0' for its battery electric vehicles (BEVs). 

The Dolphin trades the 'Dragon Face' of earlier cars here for a design philosophy BYD has called 'Ocean Aesthetics'.

Marine-inspired design cues adorn the Dolphin, including door handles shaped like the marine animal's fins

You'll have to decide yourself if the contours, sharp creases and specific head and taillight signatures really remind you of the marine animal and its movements as it breaches the ocean surface - but the car undeniably looks and feels modern, especially with its rear light bar and robotic face. The rubber on its 16-inch wheels does hide cute little easter eggs, though: Imprints of dolphins. 

Four different colours are being offered to customers at launch, including the Maldive Purple, Coral Pink and Urban Grey on the cars in these pictures. Those who opt for the latter two will even get matching interiors; a dual-tone colour scheme is offered on the inside as standard for all cars.

Speaking of the interior, the Dolphin is every bit as fantastical as we've come to expect from BYD when you step in.

In the Dolphin's fantastical, whimsical interior, a 12.8-inch Intelligent Rotating Screen takes centrestage alongside a 5.0-inch digital instrument cluster

The key elements are still there: A 12.8-inch 'Intelligent Rotating Screen' takes centrestage (supporting wired Apple CarPlay out-of-the-box), while the driver gets a 5.0-inch digital instrument cluster. Its infotainment system is capable of receiving over-the-air updates.

But gazing upon the dash, one will find a multitude of other accents that are specific and feel appropriate to the Dolphin. Most notable are its fin-like door handles. 

Par for the course BYD has taken thus far, the Dolphin is stuffed full of features and equipment despite it being the entry point to the brand’s electric range (or across all of Singapore, in fact - the car's launch price makes it the cheapest passenger EV you can buy now).

Among the generous equipment list on the Dolphin are powered front seats, which also provide ventilation 

For starters, electronically adjustable seats are offered both for the driver (six-way) and for the front passenger (four-way), and also comes with seat ventilation - perfect for Singapore's weather. 

In terms of safety, expect a full house of assistance features here too. The Dolphin comes with adaptive cruise control (with Stop & Go functionality - in start-stop traffic for instance), both lane departure and lane keeping warning and support, and also offers blind spot detection. Once you've reached your destination, a 360-degree view monitor will help even the most cautious of drivers get the Dolphin properly into a parking lot. 

Other highlights include an NFC keycard for unlocking the car - so you don't have to carry the keyfob around - as well as Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality, meaning the Dolphin can work as a roving mobile charger. Like the Atto 3, pairing the Dolphin with the local BYD App will allow drivers to remotely pre-cool the car, lock and unlock it, as well as monitor its charging status. 

A 44.9kWh battery pack gives the car a rated range of 340km 

Coming back to being on the road, there is only one variant of the Dolphin at launch, in which a single motor sends 70kW (94bhp) and 180Nm of instant torque to the front wheels. This gives it an on-paper century sprint of 12.3 seconds. The hatch is powered by a 44.9kWh Blade Battery pack, giving it a WLTP-rated driving range of 340km. 

DC charging at 60kW will bring its state-of-charge from 20 to 80% (about 200km worth of range) in just 33 minutes, while a 7kW AC charger will fully recharge the battery in 7.5 hours.

DC charging at maximum of 60kW will bring the state-of-charge of the car's battery from 20 to 80% in just 33 minutes

While addressing members of the media, Mr. James Ng, Managing Director of BYD Singapore, noted BYD's many milestones with both its hybrid and battery electric models in recent years, while reiterating the firm's unrivalled wealth of expertise in building batteries and electric vehicle components.

For 2023 thus far (up to the month of May), BYD has been the running sales leader for passenger EVs locally. Additionally, Mr. Ng teased the potential introduction of BYD's hybrid models to Singapore, as production for right-hand drive markets picks up steam.

As mentioned earlier, the Dolphin is currently the cheapest fully electric passenger car you can buy today. It launches with a retail price of $156,888, putting it in the territory of many other subcompact cars on the market now.

BYD and its dealer, Vantage Automotive, want the Dolphin to be an accessible option for all drivers in Singapore with its competitive price point

Speaking at the launch, Ms. Adelene Tan, Sales and Marketing Director of Vantage Automotive Limited, noted the team's vision for the Dolphin to "not [be] just another electric vehicle; we want it to be an accessible option for all drivers in Singapore."

Amidst its market share expansion, BYD is also intensifying its efforts to maximise customers' touch points with its brands through a growing network of lifestyle and 'brand experience' centres that was first started with 1826 by BYD, and will soon continue in Suntec City.

In the months to come, Sgcarmart understands that residents in other parts of the island can look forward to seeing these brand experience centres come closer to them. 

The Dolphin is now open to visitors of Waterway Point, and can be viewed up close at the Level 1 Atrium of the mall's West Wing over the next week

The BYD Dolphin is now on sale in Singapore, and is open to visitors for viewing at the Level 1 Atrium of Waterway Point (West Wing) over the next week.